The DWmegawad Club plays: Tangerine Nightmare & UAC Ultra & Realm of Shades

[Capellan]

UACUltra MAP04

I'm not generally a fan of one-way progression, where you can't go back to an earlier area. UAC Ultra doesn't quite commit this sin, but it does have something of a fondness for one-way teleporters where you need to clear out the area in front of you before you can return to an earlier zone. It does make maps like this one feel a bit linear to me.

 

I'm not a fan of the crusher run to the exit. It's one of those "why would anyone design a facility that worked this way?" kind of things. I can accept such shenanigans in a hell map, but not in a tech base. I did like the caco fights in that same area, though, as well as the way the golden yellow lava looks when combined with the deliciously grimy textures. Very visually striking.

 

 

[Roofi]

Map 03 : Sifting Adjunct

 

 

Difficulty : Easy

 

The difficulty increases slowly as long as you progress in the wad , the traps become a little trickier and also memorable but nothing hard for now. The third level deserves egally the rating "easy" because  you can always take cover of attacks , the rooms are enough large to not to get caught by vicious monsters and useful secrets are generally intuitively hidden. I had maximum health when I finished the level , even on pistol start. The quite expectable trap with the 2 viles and the mini slaughterfest before  the exit are not hard at all.

 

Aesthetically , the first maps have for now a very homogeneous design  ,  a lot of square rooms with boxy corridors but the hall with the black liquid highlights this level. I also liked the computer's map secret which use a classic but nice Boom effect (You must go through a transparent waterfall)

[tmorrow]

map04: Pyrolysis
zdoom2.8.1, uvmax, pistol start, no saves, first time played

An easier map than the previous one in my view since there aren't any traps where you have limited room to move. The cacodemon trap in the plunger room can be nasty if you haven't planned how to tackle it.

This is the second map where there are one way trips where you can't return to pick up any items you may have deliberately left behind because you didn't need them at the time, e.g. the berserk pack or the green armor. I really don't like this kind of map design where you are forced into using health or items when you don't need them just because they can't be accessed later. After the cacodemon swarm trap I could have used a health and armor top up but of course there was no way to go back to collect the items. I've played ahead and fortunately the one way trips are few and far between in later maps.

[Roofi]

Map 04 : Pyrolisis

 

 

Difficulty : Easy

 

You continue adventuring yourself into the infested complex. In reality you did not expect that it will be so immense. You feel the temperature rising, to such a point that it gives you the nausea. Your heavy armor begins to stick to your skin so that your journey becomes more unpleasable.

 

The ambiance seems to be more threatening in this level and the progression more  hazardous. In fact , the room flooded with lava and dangerous unstoppable crushers gives goosebumps but it's nothing. A more adventurous map that the first ones.

The level is far easier than expected , the traps are always as cheesable , maybe too much in my opinion. I prefer easy wads than Ribbiks-like wads where you die in each trap but I would have liked more dangerous traps for a level like this. Some combats are fun but a little too weak. I think about the little imp's slaughterfest when you grab the RL for instance. Also , a SSG is generously given at the beginning level so that the gameplay is mainly focused
on that weapon. It reminds me of Datacore's maps in Tangerine Nightmare.

 

Although the too much straightforward gameplay for my taste , this is my favourite level for now. Some areas are really cool , my favourite part is when the green part turns red while a bunch of  cacodemons appears at the same time. The platforms with crushers are also a pretty neat idea. It can kill easily a too much restless player for sure. However , it is not frustrating due to the fact that you can find a little strategy to not be crushed , and health is plenty as usual. I also appreciate
the orange lava , UAC has a little Tangerine Nightmare side :p , or rather the opposite because UAC was released 7 years before TN...

[gaspe]

MAP02: Things get a bit more complex and hard. The gameplay is still centered on the SG/CG combo (at least on UV) plus a little fun you can have with a RL, some encounters with the mid tiers monsters used are quite tricky because of your arsenal but it wasn't tedious. I must say that I liked the missable secret soulsphere, who the hell will jump down before going to get it? :P

[Pirx]

MAP07 - “Goetia” by Roofi

(continued)

 

turns out i just failed to find the green key for baron corpses. welp. i got the bfg without any trouble as its pedestal lowered, and indeed, it was very helpful. i returned to the exit loaded, and was like "lol is that all?" when a cyber appeared. no, it was not all. the fun was about to start. good thing i kept my cell ammo because fighting the pain elementals without would be atrocious. i also left the megasphere at the green switch nearby, it came handy now. 

so, what can i say? brilliant map. a tad too big and complex for my taste, but the looks are stunning. especially the part with the crosses in the void https://imgur.com/0p8oxaf is such a beautiful depiction of a mad, nightmarish hell. 

 

 

 

MAP08 - “Pandemonium” by franckFRAG

 

the boss map. yes, it's mostly firing the bfg and running forward. repeatedly, at the stairs with the barons and the revenants on them. one thing though: fuck the 2 archviles high on the walls. they're a pain in the ass, even with mouselook. the rest was manageable, including the cybs. the viles however...

and then i was up there and the boss died. i didn't have to fire a single rocket at it. which instantly made it a good boss map to me.

 

no, it's an impressive map. the cathedral is a piece of art, and when you get to the boss proper, this view is incredible, in such an old engine. and i gladly take slaughtering my way up there over shooting at a wall.

 

so, yes, great work by the french team. the custom assets were picked and used well. made the map seem an infernal machine. shots like this one remind of quake (ep.4). i noticed how even the hooded zombie fits the place, as he looks like a cultist. tbh, i'm not a fan of the more grindy (m04) or slaughterish (m10) maps, but overall it's a highly recommended map pack.

 

to close this with another image: isn't this beautiful?

 

 

 

 

[Magnusblitz]

MAP04: Pyrolysis

100% kills, 5/7 secrets

 

While I agree with others that not being able to backtrack is usually bad level design, I can't say it bugged me too much here since the resources were plentiful enough I didn't feel any need to go back. Did think about hunting for the last two secrets but didn't want to do the platform section again, so, there is that. Gameplay is pretty rote at this point, with a couple of imp and caco swarms but not much else notable. The standouts for me in this map were the locations, I really liked the crusher room (especially seeing it first from below, then traversing it later) and the switch changing the lights from green to red was a cool bit too.

 

Why are the lifts so slow? They seem to pause at the lowest point longer than they normally do.

[rehelekretep]

On 10/02/2018 at 5:56 PM, rehelekretep said:

goddamn map10 is pretty relentless >.<

this map is still giving me a wedgie and stealing my lunch money! im going to watch @rdwpa's max

[gaspe]

MAP03: A linear map done in a good way, in a similar vibe of the previous levels too, with simple ideas for traps and the progression but they work very well.

[Pirx]

good thing i had a bit of free time, so on to uac ultra. maps are markedly smaller and less difficult compared to tangerine.

 

 

MAP01 - “Dig”

 

short, easy, shotgun-based map. the "dirty" textures are the map set's strong point, and, while they're very well done, the contrast to the colorful tangerine wad is extremely obvious. the map goes for a more "realistic" approach where you often have a switch near the door, instead of pusing against the door to open it.

 

 

 

MAP02 - “UAC in Exile”

 

pretty much as before, some middle-weights show up, but with little pressure. shotgun and chaingun are the weapons of choice. first archvile here, but with only useless zombies to revive. yup, i would have like it too if i was able to get back to the soulsphere after falling down. bonus points for the exit gate graphic.

 

 

 

MAP03 - “Sifting Adjunct”

 

i had the same thoughts as salt-man z on the difficulty here: when you just come from tangerine's map10, a bunch of revenants is something to use your fists on. granted, i did a bit too much of this, perhaps, but a useful berserk always gets the map some bonus points just because i enjoy doom's mobility to beat the crap out of them. one has to pay attention to the switches, as they're not always well visible in this mostly grey world. nice trick with the collapsing stairs. the baron at the exit wasn't bad at all, ok he's a speed bump, but he beat up all 3 revs for me, one reason to leave the gentleman alive.

 

 

 

MAP04 - “Pyrolysis”

 

rather linear and corridor-based, with much ssg work. didn't like the archvile "trap" - it's standthere and shoot him while the molten metal looks too bright. the rest is pretty standard, the color changing columns easily a highlight. the crusher room is cool to look at, but the platforming bits never were my cup of tea. and yes @ those lifts, they stay down long.

[rehelekretep]

finishing up tangerine nightmare

map10 fda (only watch part4 if you value your limited time on this planet)

glboom+ / uv pistol start / saves

woah nelly. had to drop some saves for this one. i always hate how in hindsight maps feel easier, but of course the deaths are part of the learning process. in fact watching @rdwpa's masterful demo for hints for the big 'crescent' fight actually set me back quite a bit. i dont have his skill in dodging rev rockets and they ended up whittling my health down badly enough that i couldnt recover. what actually worked for me was every time i got cornered by more than a couple of rockets was to bust out, picking up a rad suit if necessary and removing the homers that way before returning back to the megasphere/BA cubby. that was the hardest fight by far. in contrast it took me a modest amount of tries to sort out the 2-cyber fight (i didnt watch the demo up till this point before you think of that! >.< ). the end with the 4 AVs is trash - a major point where trying to play saveless wouldve had me throwing my keyboard at @WH-Wilou84 . the 'best' strategy i came up with was to cheese them by pulling them one at a time, which isnt a tactic that you can discover in an FDA setting - shame on you @WH-Wilou84 ! the map ended sourly for me there.

 

tn fda pack (all demos)

Edited February 18, 2018 by rehelekretep

[Demon of the Well]

11 hours ago, Eris Falling said:

MAP01: Pig *

* A Machine From

 

TN Map 06 -- The Forgotten Land -- 110% Kills / 66% Secrets - FDA

Wow, Eris. Another superb track here, and in a style that has always struck me as difficult to do really well. Bit of an odd choice for the level on JCD's part (or whoever's), I thought, though--it sort of fits with the name of the map as one imagine it sight unseen, but is wildly out of step with the actual level's actual content.

 

Quite the lively romp, this, incidentally. Monster count balloons noticeably here, and the level is perhaps a bit longer than those which preceded it in the running order, but it's more an escalation in spectacle than in difficulty or anything like that, offering lots of monsters to kill, lots of big scary implements of destruction to kill them with, and lots of space to frolic around in whilst you kill them, while never feeling particularly taxing or severe. Progression here is just as linear as in m05 just prior (and indeed, it even loops around on itself in a similar way) but the overall impression is quite different, I thought. If "Orange Juice" could be likened to a rail/cart thrill ride, "Forgotten Land" is more like a safari park tour, where you've the privilege of being your own armed guide.

 

Emphasis is squarely on a series of fights (most of them individually larger than anything seen in earlier maps), progression per se taking the form of simple switch/barricade combos to conveniently shepherd you around the various yards (and later, caves) just in time for each pack of beasties to assault you. A powerful arsenal + backpack is easily acquired very early on, with healing and armor top-ups generally widely available between battles, and so despite the much greater number of creatures now attacking the gameplay doesn't really demand mechanical perfection or acute strategizing, instead reveling in the simpler joys of fire and movement and large explosions for their own sakes. On a first/blind run these escalate pretty credibly in size (in actual threat, perhaps not so much) and convey a solid amount of variety considering they are mostly all more or less the same type of fight. Better still, the nature of the layout, where separations between areas of travel tend to elide from relatively small height changes rather than solid walls, and where major areas are thus often used at different points for more than one encounter, seems to offer a lot of potential for combining different fights into even larger riots (and thus, greater joie de vivre) on repeat playthroughs. Indeed, the secret V-sphere in the cave section (which I missed in the FDA) seems placed for just such a purpose.

 

One criticism that many other players (of many different tastes, I might add) had, and which I fully agree with, concerns the fight in the final area. I've just finished saying how the map is much more delightfully big and loud than it is actually hard, and so criticizing a fight in it for being easy is perhaps shortsighted, but....this fight's too easy. The unusual structure of the arena seems to suggest something more is going to happen, but as it stands it's quite the anticlimax and has a marked feeling of wasted/squandered space. Interesting to see comments saying that this fight has actually been buffed since the beta version, too....I can only surmise that whatever its original incarnation was must've been so aggravating to testers at the time that it ended up being violently neutered before any of us laid eyes on it, heh. Anyway, while I certainly wouldn't say it's offensive (indeed, it's inoffensive to a fault, perhaps), it certainly ends things here with a whimper rather than the Bay-esque bang the rest of the map might've suggested.

 

Still a fun outing on the whole, nevertheless.

[Salt-Man Z]

MAP04: Pyrolysis

22:07 | 100% Everything

So I think maybe I just figured it out now, but is the title supposed to be a mashup of "pyro" with "paralysis"? It makes sense if I tilt my head and squint a bit, anyway. Anywho, this level has one of the more memorable setpieces in the entire WAD, that is of course the lava room with the crusher pillars. I got crunched by one, and fell of another 2-3 times, blah. Never enough to kill me, though; no, my only death came from lycopene poisoning, via the caco megaswarm in the tech area. (Very cool how everything changed from green to red there. Also odd how only one of the secret cell alcoves was accessible before triggering the change.)

[gaspe]

MAP04: The gameplay was a bit too meat-y and not very threatening, but still enjoyable, there's no grind and the map lenght was right. The machineries and stuff made a good job to highlight the map compared to the other levels, the platforming at the crushers was neat. It was cool the room that changes from red to green, once in a while symmetric areas with copy-pasted monster placement can fit in a map. I like that the progression makes you take those one-way paths, it gives a unique feel to the wad and the looping parts in the layout don't make them to feel disconnected.

 

11 hours ago, Magnusblitz said:

Why are the lifts so slow? They seem to pause at the lowest point longer than they normally do.

40oz used some custom Boom lifts instead of the default ones.

[Pirx]

8 hours ago, Salt-Man Z said:

MAP04: Pyrolysis

22:07 | 100% Everything

So I think maybe I just figured it out now, but is the title supposed to be a mashup of "pyro" with "paralysis"? 

 

No, it means decomposing stuff with heat.  The map seems to represent a kind of furnace,  after all.

 

Were the cells placed for continuous playing? I couldn't find a plasma gun, and they would have been most useful vs the cacos.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP04 Pyrolysis

 

DANGER HEAVY MACHINERY

 

I dread this level, not necessarily because of the machinery, but because of cacodemons. Otherwise, another basic map with UAC Ultra resources. I like to ignore the first group of cacos and enter the side room, some of them get crushed by the crushers which later on I have to traverse. The rotating tubes later on are a highlight too, got some hell knights in hiding, and those four secrets also conceal cacodemons, although they were all easy to get to. It's when I try to get to the crushers, all of sudden cacos were blocking my way up the lift. I hate 'em for that. For the crushers, stay on the outer ledge so you avoid getting crushed, but not fall off. Barely room for error.

[Capellan]

UACUltra MAP05

Visual flair continues to be a strong feature of the mapset. Lots of interesting looking places here, and good use of architecture to structure fights and progress (even if the latter is a tiny bit linear at times). The action is solid but generally quite low key. The cheekiest trap is probably the very first one, to be honest. AV fights are good again, though the use of mancubi is much less inspiring: a lot of door corner camping where they serve only as an ammo tax, really.

 

Revenant use is a bit humdrum, too: the more corridor-y parts of this often have the overly familiar "come around a corner, see 2 revvies" thing the wad has done a lot. It's got to the point that I'm regularly anticipating this and waking only one revenant at a time (suggestion to the authors, if they are still active: make more use of block sound lines instead of deaf monsters).

 

Didn't get any of the BFG related secrets, but did nab the supercharger secret.

 

[tmorrow]

map05: Hardware
zdoom2.8.1, uvmax, pistol start, no saves, first time played

An excellent map with a fun secret hunt, my favourite in the wad so far. This map is much harder at the start than at the end due close encounters with limited weapons early on. There is a non official secret to unlock the bfg that is sealed by 4 security barriers. You need to find 4 cleverly concealed transparent switches located throughout the map. The bfg unlock is kind of pointless for pistol starters since it becomes available when there are few enemies remaining.
 

There seems to be a bug on this map. Maximum secrets is 85% (6/7) because you can't register one secret because you can't step into sector 579.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP05: Hardware

100% kills, 5/7 secrets

 

Yeah that trap at the start really caught me by surprise since it sounded like the imps were alerting from the sides not behind. I do enjoy the sense of place (the frozen section was a nice design bit) and the secret hunt, though I only found two of the BFG switches. Not that I really missed the gun, anyways. More emphasis on the smaller fry here which was nice. Moving through the level did become a bit of a pain though since you had to take the long way around (through the frozen section again) due to all the one-way teleporters.

[Roofi]

 

 

Map 05 : Hardware (UAC Ultra)

 

 

Difficulty : medium

 

I really liked that map , the level design get more inspired and diversified. In consequence , it's a real leap of difficulty but in a good way. So , you go deep in the UAC base and you explore now a pretty big complex located in a cavern flooded with lava. There is also a little oddity in this level that I liked : the cold room where you must pass through with radsuits in order to not be frozen ! Using damaging sectors to make dangerously cold areas is unusual , it's why I like it.

 

The map contains also a trope that I'm fan : the BFG which is accessible only by doing multiple tasks . In Goetia , you had to kill hidden mancubus scattered on the map and hidden arachnotrons in a specific area. You must this time find 4 well-hidden switchs dispersed in the complex. In fact , the BFG is really useless because you must kill a lot of monsters before activating all the switchs but it could be useful for continuous play. The Computer map is really easy to find but will not help you that much to find the BFG.

 

The layout is more cramped at some parts so that some traps become nastier , the beginning can be tough also because you must kill some deadly monsters (Revenants and chaingunners) without armor and with a little shotgun. I almost died at the yellow's key trap. Numerous little traps put the player on stress but nothing really dreadful for now.

 

However , I'm not really keen of silent teleporters abuse because it tends to ruin the interconnectivity of the map. I prefer when the layout is unified instead of separated zones.

 

Also ,

 

Spoiler

When you grab the BFG , you find your sadly dead pet in a very unexpectable way .

 

[Demon of the Well]

TN Map 07 -- Goetia -- 105% Kills / 90% Secrets - FDA

As was the case with almost everyone else, this one took me quite a while--70+ minutes IIRC--but I did end up unraveling it almost in its entirety. I believe the secret I neglected is the berserk pack situated above the yellow pool and below the pentacle terrace in the large southeastern chamber....pretty minor, in the scheme of things. Not very well played on my part otherwise (managed to very nearly die two or three times over the course of the level, always to really poor play or dumb decisions), but then, it's the nature of the Göetia to eventually grant great power to those willing to bleed to uncover its secrets, isn't it?

 

Set in a network of underground temples and caverns which seem to overlook the Abyss itself, this map differs from all others in the set in that its primary focus is on free exploration, with several layers of intrigue at play to tempt the curious. Cryptic musings in the form of free-floating text hovering about near a number of altars or ritual sites provide clues for unlocking the many hidden areas of the complex, though in truth this entire string of subquests is almost entirely optional. Indeed, there's never really a clear sense of what you're actually trying to accomplish until you're quite a ways in, and seldom any real way to tell mandatory progression steps from optional ones. I really don't see this as a problem, though; the crux of a map like this one is to just get stuck in and let things come together however they will. I found it convincingly immersive, and that I was playing an m07 (read: a map with 666/667 tags) never dawned on me until very near the end, almost always a good sign in a map in this slot. ;)

 

In strictly material terms, the ultimate rewards of the major chain of secrets--the scarlet key, the chapel of the dark chryst, the spider-void, the hunt for the Gluttonous which ties into them all--are an early plasma rifle and, ultimately, the level's sole BFG, but I like to think that evaluating optional riddles/challenges in this way often misses the forest for the trees; the real reward is the trip itself, the seeing of sights seldom seen, the fulfilled sense of inquiry. Being very accessible on the whole (i.e. the puzzles and secrets aren't too obscure for the most part, and the mainline balance of the level is such that the way it plays/flows is seldom markedly impacted by which secrets you've found), I reckon this might be a great map to open a few eyes about the merits of this kind of design and this aspect of gameplay, away from everything being all fights all the time or the notion that merely reaching the exit is all it takes to truly 'win.'

 

By way of criticism and all above aside, I did think that the level could've stood to reach a slightly more resounding climax than it does (never mind that I managed to nearly die in the climax which does exist, all part of The Plan (TM) ), although in retrospect this really has less to do with the way any of the fights are designed and more with the role of the green key in progression. Moreso than any other piece of mandatory progression, the GK's bit feels like an optional aside (and is actually my favorite fight in the level, incidentally), and the positively absurd trove of goodies it unlocks in the northwest cave skews the balance (and thus the possibilities of approach) in the final hub-fight(s) so much that it really felt like this should've been one of the secret rewards instead, or that the final-hub fight should've been much less neatly segmented to make said trove a little more justified in its extravagance, especially when factoring in the relatively simple V-sphere secret as well (again, never mind that I utterly squandered this in the FDA). Also, I would've liked a more convenient lift out of the pit with the rising wooden pylons near the RK to be available from the start, but small potatoes, that.

 

Excellent work, Roofi, may there be more to come in future.

 

TN Map 08 -- Pandemonium -- 137% Kills / 50% Secrets - FDA

Lovely conclusion, just what I like to see in an IoS-style map--grandeur, catharsis.....memories! The opening shot and the first emergence into the great chasm lined with gibbets with the vast subterranean cathedral at the opposite side are both incredibly striking, and the sense of spectacle only continues to escalate from there, with the Doomguy blitzing his way through hordes of enemies to the summit beyond as dusk descends on all. Like most maps with an Icon-type boss as their focal point, the playstyle here is not really meant to flow in the conventional sense (i.e. you're not realistically supposed to concern yourself with maxing it, though I'm sure this is a possibility that has been taken into account by the designers for those players who might insist); just charge in, grit your teeth, reach the top. You never have to worry about ammo or supplies, just keep killing your way up that hill until the last light dies. Lovely, like I say, a good way to wind down the set in a bubble of serenity amidst much sound and fury and wanton bloodshed.

 

Aside from the spawn locations being almost guaranteed to malfunction at some point (not a whole lot to be practically done about this, I reckon), if there's a misstep here I'd say it's probably that the (first) BFG just simply should not have been secret, probably switching places with the plasma rifle at the foot of the great mural in the chapel. Playing the level with the BFG as the primary weapon is by far the most fun and, I would argue, natural way to do it, and having it purpose-placed in the open so that all players would have the chance to massacre the literal army of cultists in the chapel seems like it would have been a good guide for how to proceed with the rest of the level in turn. All my talk about rewarding curiosity and observation and such aside, sometimes you just want an open invitation to say 'fuck it' and have a good time, y'know?

 

TN Map 09 -- Credits -- Nothing to kill / 100% Secrets - FDA (for sake of completeness)

R. I. P. Subject119.

[Pirx]

54 minutes ago, Roofi said:

 

The map contains also a trope that I'm fan : the BFG which is accessible only by doing multiple tasks . In Goetia , you had to kill hidden mancubus scattered on the map and hidden arachnotrons in a specific area. You must this time find 4 well-hidden switchs dispersed in the complex. In fact , the BFG is really useless because you must kill a lot of monsters before activating all the switchs but it could be useful for continuous play. The Computer map is really easy to find but will not help you that much to find the BFG.

 

 

 

heh... thanks for making this clear. because, tbh, i had not even noticed what exactly caused the bfg pillar to lower. i had this suspicion because i found the bfg down after returning from the spider world, but the mancs were so cleverly scattered that i had had forgotten at this point that i was playing a map07. so, once more thumbs up for your map.

 

regarding this map05 though, the bfg is irrelevant for the finale (i didn't get it and used rockets instead), so the point in finding those switches is lost.

[WH-Wilou84]

@ rdwpa : thanks for the demo on my TN map !

The strategy I had envisioned is roughly the same as yours, but there are some slight differences here and there : during the beginning of the western crescent room fight, for instance, I usually spend some time in the northest part of the crescent to kill all the static Viles, then empty my rocket stock on the Demons from this spot before going for the rockets and holding my ground from there as you do. In the last fight, once both Cybs are out, I usually hide in the lower Cyber hideout (but it's unwise to stay there for too long). Never thought about going into the higher cubby tbh, as I thought it would be too risky getting caught between a stray Cyb rocket and Revenant missiles. But yeah, as it turns out, it works well !
That's what you'd need skilled playtesters for, I assume.

I'll record a demo too, once this thing hits the /idgames archive.

@ rehelekretep : Congrats for your perseverance and tenacity. :)

Overcoming seemingly impossible odds is one of the most rewarding ways of enjoying this game, me thinks.

Edited February 13, 2018 by WH-Wilou84

[Pirx]

MAP05 - “Hardware”

 

the wad picks up its pace, amushes aren't so harmless any more, notably the one with the mancubus pincer which left me looking for health for some time. the twin viles were comparably easy to keep in their room. a series of switches are intended to release the bfg, i suppose, but the rocket launcher was sufficient for the arachs at the exit. those can be cheesed through the grates at the hand switch. 

 

i encountered - again - a spectre bug here. so it happens that a spectre that is wounded by bullet fire becomes a ghost. it can follow me through walls, bite me if i stand still, however i can run through it, and i can't kill it with rockets like a normal archvile ghost. seems to happen only with smooth doom. anyone had the same experience? i have to try the map without smooth doom, but iirc this has happened on other maps too, and never when i had not loaded SD.

 

 

 

 

MAP06 - “Collapsys”

 

i think the music would better fit a slaughter map, it's too fast and dissonant for a map that's mostly about iwad difficulty, corridor-heavy, many rooms joined by corridors, and little surprise in monster placement. i made it through at the first try easily with rather cautious play, chaingun sniping a lot of former humans, and finding measly 20% secrets. pinkies can be shot through grates or right from the door. there's an invuln hidden behind the portal you start from, not sure what it's intended for. a cyb shows up as the map's final boss, but doesn't last long against the plasma gun. rejoice, here comes a death exit and some story. 

[Demon of the Well]

TN Map 10 -- Umbreion Nils -- 103% Kills / 100% Secrets - FDA, 3 deaths.

Ah, but death is so seldom truly the end in the realms of Doom, eh? Wouldn't have it any other way.

 

"Umbreion Nils" is in a sense the Omega to m07's Alpha, a crypt drifting aimlessly through the existential nether housing a series of intense setpiece fights, each more frantic than the last. There is a mild element of non-linearity in that you can choose whether to undertake the fight for the blue key proper or the fight which grants access to the blue-locked door itself first, though each of these (as well as the level's other fights) is basically completely self-contained and so this is mostly for flavor rather than a particularly important element of strategy. The real heart of the matter is that in all of the major fights save the first, the rocket launcher is the marquee weapon, with the SSG acting as a sidearm--there are no cell weapons, no chaingun, no pump-action shotgun, and a secret chainsaw which is basically a token of defiance rather than a credible means of such.

 

For the record, the rocket launcher is my personal favorite weapon in Doom; apart from being powerful and versatile (but not a do-all--nobody really likes a do-all, do they?), I think it's the most satisfying to use really well, particularly under pressure, considering wielding it effectively involves the impetus to try to squeeze rounds into the midst of groups rather than necessarily simply hitting the closest or most available target. And, of course, there is its thrilling element of self-endangerment, this being the usability quirk that slightly edges it out over the more esoteric might of the BFG in my affections. Each of these fights riffs on these elements and more in a variety of ways, making the map something like a love letter to the RL, and I couldn't be more pleased.

 

The BK fight proper puts space management front and center, with a strong element of target prioritization to force you to make snap decisions about when/where to move and what to shoot. Hesitation is death, vacillation moreso. I think my initial success here in the FDA is largely a matter of luck, replaying the map again today for fun, this was the fight that killed me (on two attempts in succession, at that), rather than the one later on that bested me a few times on that first run. I prefer to clear the perched viles and mancubi (which realistically involves tanking some damage in exchange for uninterrupted DPS) first before turning to beat back the horde spilling out past the central partition, but today experimented with trying to hold the other half of the room instead (ignoring the viles), which I was pleased to find is also tricky, but doable, casting light on the pair of mancubi really being the fight's lynchpin, rather than the viles as one might reasonably surmise.

 

The big 'croissant' fight, by contrast, doesn't as immediately press you for floorspace (though losing too much momentum here is probably even surer a death-knell than losing it in the other fights), instead challenging you to focus on using your weapon efficiently to kill as quickly as possible while also requiring you to think/plan ahead about when it's time to reload, heal and/or re-position, as the stream of evil has enough density and enough longevity to make a pure holdout impossible, even at the room's theoretically strongest/most defensible position (i.e. the southern end, where you land when you first drop down). My gut strategy here was largely the same to what Wilou himself describes above, but again, it's always fun to see in big fights like this that alternative strategies can be effective as well, ala rdwpa's maxdemo.

 

The final fight past the blue door probably has an even stronger "oh shit!" factor than the BK fight, and is thus a delightfully visceral note to end on. This one crushed me a couple of times in the FDA. The first time I don't feel so bad about--what's going to happen there is harder to read than in some of the earlier fights until it's actually happening IMO (i.e. the startling entrance of the cyberdemon tornado tag-team), and there's relatively little margin for error. The second time is just "okay you got me, nice shot. Dick." The third and final death was definitely some facepalm material, though....just call me "Demon Carradine." :D Got it right after that, ultimately I think the fight's not quite as scary as it initially seems provided you stay cool. I mostly hung out on the west side in order to maximize potential for having the battery of revenants piss off everything else in the room; I've found the issue of the cybies tends to almost always resolve itself while you're not looking, provided you stay on your toes when you occasionally need to rub elbows with one of them.

 

Great stuff. The icing on the cake is that the level has a great mood, too, with a well-chosen HR2 track and a breathable sense of space with tall, vaulted ceilings that nevertheless manages to occasionally feel oppressive and claustrophobic by dint of the encounter design. Not quite as shadowy as I might've surmised, with a sort of odd neutral luminescence to most things, and at this point I'm pretty over the 'orange' angle, but the textures themselves are great, particularly the many different deathshead motifs. Hope to see a lot of these assets again in later projects.

 

....when's Necromantic Thirst, by the way? ;)

[Demtor]

MAP07 - “Goetia” by Roofi

gzDoom – UV – ps/saves

 

This had promise of something interesting with the word walls and puzzle nature with quiet brooding music, but I had to quit half way through when I grew weary of dealing with far off rev rockets and CG snipers. Not a fun design at all at times. Not to mention the AV use behind windows and in little corner alcoves. Ugh. I'm tired and I can't do it. Some other day. Skipping along to try and catch up. I have to plan my free time a little better to handle involved exploratory maps.

 

 

 

MAP08 - “Pandemonium” by franckFRAG

gzDoom – UV – ps/saves

 

Holy hell! That's one way to go out with a bang. The slow opening with the secret BFG was really well done. Loved the massive art at the end of the long cathedral. What's that from? Seriously awesome art. I liked the side chapels with health and armor pick ups. They looked both creepy and soothing.

 

The view of the tower and area around it before jumping down is quite something to behold. I like the staggered levels to climbing up around the side with slow lifts and tricky rock climbs.

 

The ending came a bit abrupt but was okay with it really. At that point when I finished running past the AV's in the window and three cybies to hit the three switches to open up the teleports... I was pretty much done with this map. So, glad it ended with it did with a floating “FIN,” haha.

 

 

 

MAP09 - “Credits” by JCD, Roofi

gzDoom – UV – ps/saves

 

Very cool. I like the design of a good credits map especially one with the guts to have so much detail from start to finish. I'm sure they all worked their asses off to make this stuff really come to life. Why not go out with a little style? Bravo to everyone. Good show! Hey, thank you.

 

 

 

MAP10 - “Umbreion Nils” by [WH]-Wilou84

gzDoom – UV – ps/saves

 

Huh. I did okay for the first few fights that were fun and was willing to save scum like a mofo a little later. The last half of the map though, blah. It was just one insane set up after the next. Timed door, survival situations with just a RL and a SSG with tons of AV's and revs? No, no, no. Not for me. Secret level is insane and not necessary but when there are only 9 maps... I would hope for something a little more playable. Maybe that's just me though. 2 nd best music track of the wad right here at least. So there's that.

 

Final Thoughts

Overall a very impressive collection of maps but as some others have said, the last few maps left a weird taste in my mouth. As much as I enjoyed the craftiness at the start and the craziness in the middle, the end stuff got to be a bit much for my tastes. 7/10 I must say though, this is really something that sticks to an overall theme and aesthetic really well. I loved all the custom creepiness filled to the brim in each map.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP05 Hardware

 

Wonderful level, first really good one. Consistent combat throughout, dark setting with many design decisions that just rule. Different lava than usual, but there's even a frozen section that still requires the BFG. Hmm, Green Marine, your own suit should be insulated enough, so why you gotta be so cold in that space? Why get an EXTRA suit for your own frozen section needs. And more importantly, how can the monsters, normally all warm-blooded abominations, not feel this kind of thing? Is body temperature something of an afterthought?

 

Stop thinking too hard.

 

Obviously, this base is well made, between frozen and heated up sections. Distinctly linear at first, gives in to a weird roundabout section near the end later, but everything's dandy. Also, there's this top secret BFG to grab, so find four hidden switches, some of which are not in secrets. As far as secrets go, I think one sector may be completely out of reach.

[Salt-Man Z]

MAP05: Hardware

33:33 | 100% Kills | 98% Items | 85% Secrets

Woo! This was a blast, and quite a bit of an adventure, too. Gorgeous as always, and good use of silent teleporters to move between sections. The use of radsuits as protection against the "frozen" areas was inspired. Lots of good secrets, too, though I apparently missed one; I assumed the final one would be the BFG, but I got that and it wasn't. (I also got two soulspheres and the blursphere, so isn't that 7?) My only deaths were at the battle with the knights and their entourage, and I'm thinking, "Wow, this is pretty lame having the switch that triggers the ambush tucked safely behind the screen like this," and made short work of the party, but then the two archies that came next took my completely by surprise. (And of course, on my next attempt, I bought it early on in the knight ambush.) The final area was impressive, looks-wise, but kinda ho-hum to play; it didn't help that I kept falling off the edge picking up stray guns, and then I'd have to retrace the entire path to lower the lifts again. Still, a really fun level.

[Roofi]

Map 06 : Collapsys (UAC Ultra)

 

 

Difficulty : Easy

 

It's a nice title to describe the end of the level. You decide to fall in a bottomless pit , but why?  And where are you supposed to land? In a more dangerous
area for sure...

 

A venturesome exploration before a traditionnal map 07's battle where you explore a brown/grey base as always in this wad. I agree with Pirx on the fact that the music sounds really tenseful compared to the global difficulty which doesnt'exceed DOOM2.wad. Whereas the previous map proposed a challenging gameplay with some vicious traps , I found this one kinda boring because of the ineffecitivity of many traps. A lot of fights could have been harder to make the progression more exciting. The last fight with the cybie was really disappointing so that I can do a parallel with the ridiculous Cyberdemon fight in TN map 05. However , the ferocious traps justified the use of a useless cyber at the end in TN.  I would have liked a little difficulty spike in that case.

 

Graphically , the design looks really neat and the layout presents a lot of clever interconnexions . Finding the secrets is not a hard task but it always provides some fun. On the other hand , I can't describe a lot the aesthectics of UAC ultra because it prove to be very repetitive despite it's good level design. However , I really liked the conveyor belt effect near the end , it's a very nice boom effect for base maps and other things that I can't exactly remember.

[Capellan]

UACUltra MAP06

Hiding an invuln in a secret right behind the start point made me wonder what I was going to face in this map, but it's a wholly unnecessary power-up in the end. There's plenty of health and armour on the level to meet your needs, especially if you find the (easy) mega-armour secret.

 

Combat-wise, the most dangerous thing on the map are the hitscanners, particularly the chaingunners. They're often placed in locations where they can snipe from considerable range, or at an awkward angle, or where targeting one requires making yourself vulnerable to another.

 

By contrast, the big monsters are very unimaginatively placed, in mostly straight ahead fights that frequently turn them into helpless ammo sponges (mancs and 'trons are particularly prone to this, here). It gets rather like chopping wood at times – quite static.

 

The map as always for the set looked nice, though I thought it was a bit lacking in "oooh!" rooms. Nothing had quite the visual flair of the lava room from map04, say.

 

Not a bad map, overall, but certainly not one of the more memorable or fun entries in the set so far.